Known art gather “activity level” from instant-message users and provides a “busy gauge” to others that indicates the user's activity level. The user's activity is computed automatically based upon the user's interaction with their computer system. An input tracking routine records the user's input frequency, such as mouse clicks, voice inputs, keyboard inputs, and other inputs in order to determine the user's activity level. The recorded activity data is compared with activity level thresholds that can be either default thresholds or user-specified. The user can select to use a manual input level in which the user specifies the user's activity level despite the number of input actions received at the user's computer.